You don’t really need to leave the city to feel like you’re on vacation. Our favorite bars and restaurants with island/beach/boat vibes.

Montauk is overrun, the Jersey Shore is... the Jersey Shore, and odds are you never actually rented that cabin in the Catskills that you were talking about all winter. Good news is you don’t really have to leave NYC to feel like you’ve had a vacation. Here are our favorite spots to absorb some island/beach/boat vibes without leaving the five boroughs.

The Spots

Zombie Hut’s been around for a while, but it’s still worth visiting what Brooklyn’s tiki-est Tiki Bar. Amongst all the other normal-looking spots on Smith St. sits this bamboo-covered bar that feels like you’ve stepped into a hut on a deserted island. Polynesian masks, Tiki torches, and a thatched roof are all part of the action. Add a few (very strong) frozen cocktails and you’ll be golden.

If New Orleans and St. Barths made a baby, it would look like Loosie Rouge. This bar is a little bit beachy, a little bit sexy, and always a party. Welcome to the best beach vacation you can get without leaving Williamsburg.

Don’t have a boat? Join the club. Your next best bet is a pier - or even better, a pier covered in grass with a bar on it. Enter Pier 13 in Uptown Hoboken, where you can enjoy frozen drinks and food truck bites on the water. Be warned: peak times here are mayhem.

Admittedly, a trip to Rockaway is basically a mini-vacation in itself for many of us. But it’s worth repeating that going on a pilgrimage for the best fish tacos in NYC at Tacoway Beach is one of the best things you can do on a summertime Saturday. Post up at the bar outside, get some tacos and margaritas, and take in the melting pot crowd of surfers, locals, and tourists.

Frankly, we’re surprised it took this long for someone to have the idea to dock big sailboat on the Hudson and starting serving rosé and oysters on it. Fortunately, someone did have the idea a few years back, and Grand Banks has since become a summer institution. Just don’t come on a windy day unless you have strong sea legs.

This barge docks on the Hudson right below 42nd Street, and goes on short sails up and down the river every hour or so. It’s admittedly a bit touristy, and the seafood served onboard is just average, but that’s the case at plenty of vacation spots down the Eastern Seaboard anyway, right?